The Observations of Kuchiki Byakuya
by novicestar
Summary: Kuchiki Byakuya knew a lot of things. Today, Byakuya knew what it was like to be a big brother and allow his sister happiness. IchiRuki from Byakuya's POV. Oneshot.


Kuckihi Byakuya knew a lot of things. He was an intelligent, insightful, calculated and educated man. He'd run the noble house of Kuchiki for many years, and not much happened within his clan that he was ignorant of. He was also the respected captain of the sixth squad of the Gotei 13. He observed with quiet grace, appearing aloof and disinterested, but at the same time, he took in everything. Yes, Kuchiki Byakuya knew a lot of things.

He knew what it was to desire power. When he was younger, training under his grandfather, Shihoin Yoruichi would often tease him. He wanted nothing more than to overpower that annoying she-devil and just get her to be quiet and leave him alone.

He knew what it was like love. Truly, he had loved his wife. He adored her, and still cherishes every moment they spent together, in those few years.

He knew what it was like to lose that love. It was heart breaking, earth shattering, and yet for something that should be so monumental, it was achingly quiet. Those in his clan, his supposed family, turned their noses up. Her funeral was attended by himself, the few attendants she had befriended and those who felt it their duty to Byakuya. He was alone once again, only, it was worse than before, because now he had known the love a warmth of a wonderful woman.

He knew life was cruel when he found her beloved sister the very next year after she passed. Hisana never got reunited with her beloved sister. Byakuya would honour her dying wish; he took Rukia in under his wing.

He knew how it felt to be a disappointment and how wretched it felt to betray someone you loved with every fibre of your being, when a kid told him that he was wrong to act like he had; that he'd not been the elder brother Hisana wished him to be. If Hisana had still been alive, that kozo would never have shamed him like he had.

Yes, Kuchiki Byakuya knew shame. Every time his eyes met the gaze of his adoptive sister, that shameful feeling of guilt bubbled beneath his cool exterior. He never knew how to show it, but he had changed his perceptive on Rukia. She was not a curse, she was a gift from his wife. Something to remember her by. He knew now he had to cherish Rukia, before it was too late. It almost was, once.

Kuchiki Byakuya also knew that his sister was a lot like his late wife. She had these expressive eyes that once they fell upon the man she loved, would sparkle. There was just something there. Maybe her gaze became a little warmer, maybe her eyes would soften, maybe she would laugh, maybe she would shout, but she would always have a reaction to that man. There was no doubt about it. Rukia, no matter how hard she had tried, could not feign indifference when it came to that man.

And Kuchiki Byakuya knew, that Rukia would deny it six ways to Sunday.

What Byakuya didn't know, was how he'd missed it for so long. When he'd asked his second in command about it, he just looked at his boss dumbfounded.

"_Renji. Do you think Rukia loves the kozo?"_

_Renji almost choked on his drink. "What?"_

"_Rukia. Do you think she has feelings for Kurosaki Ichigo?"_

_Renji blinked. And blinked again. "Ah –"_

"_I know you have your own feelings towards my sister, Renji. But in your opinion, does she love the kid?"_

_Renji gaped. "I – I don't know… I mean…"_

His question had made the redhead very flustered, and Byakuya never got an answer from him.

He had come to realise, that Kurosaki Ichigo and his sister had a very intimate relationship, even if it was not yet one of a romantic nature. Most people would hear intimate and immediately think of certain inappropriate acts, but intimate was the only way to describe their relationship.

He knew that they had traded their power. The first time, when Rukia gave her power to Kurosaki, had been for both self-preservation and to save his family. There were no feelings involved. Even though he was not there, Byakuya knew this. But the times after that? Byakuya knew.

Kurosaki Ichigo gained powers and fought his way through a foreign land with 4 comrades and a cat to save Rukia. Even if the boy was not aware of it, he had no obligation to save the younger Kuchiki. He could say he owed her, he could say it was a lot of things, but his actions had said the most.

Kuchiki Byakuya knew then, deep down, that Kurosaki held some sort of affection for his sister. But at the time, he'd dismissed it as a teenage crush. After all, he was at that age in a boy's life where such a thing occurs.

When Inoue Orihime was kidnapped by Aizen, Ichigo had a full arsenal of powers, even if he was fighting it out with his hollow. He had the capability to save the girl, so he made it his mission too. She is a close friend of his from the living world, he couldn't just leave her. But the powers he gained during that time, were not to save her. He could have saved her with the powers he already had.

No, Kuchiki Byakuya knew that the powers he built upon during the winter war were not for Inoue Orihime. They were for himself, his friends, family, comrades, his town… to put it simply, he developed those powers because he simply had no choice but to. He had to defeat Aizen, and circumstances had meant that he was the only one who could.

Kuchiki Byakuya knew pride. He had seen how his sister had fought her demons and stood her ground against an espada – something that made him very proud indeed. For all these years he'd thought he'd been sheltering her, but instead he had been stifling her, stunting her growth as a shinigami, and as a woman.

After Kurosaki collapsed after using his final technique on the fifth squad's ex captain, he'd heard how Rukia hadn't run to the boy. No, instead, she stood around and had demanded answers and solutions. When no-one offered solutions, Rukia had run. Kurosaki was still unconscious, but Byakuya had been the one to find her, before he left the living world to head back to the Soul Society.

"_Rukia."_

_Sniff. "H-hai, Nii-Sama." Rukia didn't even look at him._

"_Kuckihi's don't – no. Rukia, what's wrong?"_

"_N…Nii-sama…" He could hear her struggle to keep her sobs suppressed._

"_Rukia." Byakuya sighed. It was this juncture in his life when he realised that his sister loved the war hero lain unconscious in his own home. "I'm not going to pretend I understand your heart. However, I want you to think on this. When a person loses their beloved to death in soul form, the deceased can never return. Kurosaki will still be alive, and will simply one day move from this world, into the next world - ours. Be grateful that he lives, Rukia."_

Byakuya had walked away from Rukia could turn around but he hoped she'd understood his words.

Kuchiki Byakuya knew that the bond between his sister and the man she loved was something they each valued highly – their bond was more important to them than their lives. They would kill and be killed for each other… and they were only…'best friends'. Part of Byakuya had always dreaded the day when they realised their feelings for the other were more than colleagues, more than friends, more than best friends… it would get messy, and heaven forbid anyone try to separate him from her forcefully! All four dimensions would be torn asunder until they were reunited.

As much as he wanted to disapprove, Kuchiki Byakuya could think of no man better suited to the sister of his beloved late Hisana. He would stand all take all her abuse, only to grumble in response, but when she needed him, he was there as quick as a flash. He'd proven that time and time again. He was strong and could protect her. He respected her and never doubted her. If there were sides to take, Kurosaki Ichigo would always be on the side his sister stood.

And unfortunately, he couldn't even say the boy was _unfit _to marry a Kuchiki, as of course, the ex-captain of the tenth squad and ex-head of the Shiba clan, Shiba Isshin was his father. There was more noble blood in that boy's veins than was in his sister's.

Now, he, alongside pretty much everyone noteworthy in the Gotei 13 had helped kick start the boys shinigami powers once again. Rukia was the last to fill the sword with her reiatsu. Byakuya was not Urahara, but if he could figure out why. Byakuya's summation were that the reasons were twofold. Rukia's powers had to feel familiar to the boy, because he would never have seen her coming at him with the sword and Rukia would want to put the most reiatsu in, even if she didn't know why. The noble knew she'd deliberately worked out who had donated the most reiatsu and allowed hers to flow in for much longer. Deep down, Byakuya felt that Rukia wanted the kozo to know her, and her spiritual pressure, just like they had all those years ago.

Byakuya had seen it then, and he knew Isshin had too. The way the pair acted around the other, was like a very old couple, who'd been together for many yet. For the pair of noble teenagers, it wasn't the words. It wasn't the actions. It wasn't the surroundings. It was the connection. The words could mean nothing and everything to the two of them. The way they looked at each other said more than a thousand words ever could.

Kuchiki Byakuya sighed. Yes, he knew many, many things. Today, he learned that he knew something else. He knew for sure that he and the kozo would be brothers-in-law.

Kuchiki Byakuya also knew that signing his name next to that of Shiba Isshin's on the omiai is probably the best thing he's ever willingly done for Rukia, without her knowledge or the kozo's influence. Even if they were not ready now, Byakuya knew they'd be married one day, and have a marriage as happy as he did.

Today, Byakuya knew what it was like to be a big brother and allow his sister happiness.


End file.
